Town Looking To Buy Primus Land

Private owners have been unsuccessful in bids to develop the 25-acre parcel

August 17, 2010|By KEN BYRON, kbyron@courant.com

SOUTHINGTON — — The town is now looking to buy 25 acres that has been the focus of repeated and unsuccessful attempts at development by its owners.

The vacant parcel, owned by the Primus family, is off Farmstead and Hightower roads. Word that the town is negotiating with the family was contained in a memo from Town Attorney Mark Sciota to the town council for its Aug. 9 meeting. The purchase was discussed in executive session that night but no formal action was taken.

Council Chairman Edward Pocock said Monday that the idea of buying the property first came up several years ago. The town might pay $2.4 million for the land, and Pocock said the town is trying to obtain state money for the purchase.

Pocock said one rationale for buying the vacant parcel is that much of it is flood plain and the town could protect that land from development by acquiring it.

"There was talk of high-density residential development there, so from that aspect, buying this is a no-brainer because we don't want increased congestion in that area," Pocock said.

A representative of the Primus family could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Development plans for the parcel go back to 1999, when the Primus family proposed building single-family homes on the parcel, similar to much of the housing already in the neighborhood. That plan was rejected.

A second proposal the family made in 2004 called for a multifamily development with 91 units. Of that, 28 would have been designated affordable and set aside for people meeting certain income guidelines. That plan was rejected, too, with officials citing concerns about traffic and flooding. Lawsuits appealing the town's decision were pending until 2007, when the state Appellate Court upheld the denials.

The 2004 proposal was opposed by several residents in the area. Earlier this year, the town's plans for a sewer line in the neighborhood ran into opposition, with some saying it would simply benefit the Primus family's hopes to develop their property.